What is occurring and why it is so difficult to relate this to the public is not so much complicated, at least I don't see it that way, but easily 'skepticized' into quackery. Scientists are tired of being abused and beat up by the UNQUALIFIED (...and by 'unqualified' I do mean the so called Christian Scientists that completely depart from sound math and science to carry out political agendas of assault on the ACTUAL truth and not the GODLY truth. Which is not the same by the way. "The Truth" Christian espouse is NOT 'The Truth' that is science and 'real' life. Christians espouse "The Godly Truth" which is based in religious dogma and not sound science OR political benevolence.) and political directives that are not only dangerous but deadly.
I am assuming my personal right of moral authority on this subject from experience in 'the field' literally and figuratively. Amateur status at this point. That is right, I do it for the love of it. The love of saving actual lives. I love the word amateur and the capacity of dedication that it brings, however, in this field of science I have not meet one scientist that is any less in love with the science than I am.
The glaciers are very interesting bodies of frozen H2O. They manifest with little provocation from humans and demise the same way. We have learned a great deal about glaciers but there is still far more we need to learn.
In this case, in Greenland, as in other cases 'reportings' of mass balance in other icefields their 'appears' to be a respite if you will to 'retreat,' however, that does not indicate there are actual 'build ups' of icefields. Actually, quite the contrary.
The icefields are experiencing 'recharge' (a replacement of melted waters) from different areas in this current Human Induced Global Warming episode of Earth.
Recharge of a glacier is vital to it's existance. Why is this at all important? Because the glaciers, icefields, the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica are thermostats to the biotic 'availability' of life. Earth will exist with or without icefields, however, life on Earth will not exist without a temperate climate. That climate that ALLOWS life is completely dependant upon Earth to 'oscillate' enough in it's 'benevolent' temperature to accomdate fluctuations in it's gaseous troposphere.
In other words, when carbon dioxide levels rise and cause heating, which is a good thing as that is where life exists on Earth, IN RESPONSE to that heating the icefields 'take a hit' and melt back to accomodate that increase in temperature. The icefields and their available fluctuations are what keeps the oceans cool. The Greenland Ice is interesting because one of the 'bad effects' of high carbon dioxide levels is the complete melting of Earth's ice and the slowing of it's ocean circulation. THAT CIRCULATION, throughout Earth, BEGINS in the North Atlantic with North Atlantic Deep Water, but, that is another discussion except for the fact that The Greenland Ice is extremely important to ocean circulation.
Departing from the specifics of The Greenland Ice mass balance, what is happening in glacier retreat vs recharge is that the recharge areas are moving to higher elevations. Why? Because the 'snow storms' that provide the recharge are moving to higher elevations. Why? Because the tropospheric heat at the surface is pushing percipitation to higher elevations.
Earlier this year we heard about mountain climbers that succumbed to the climate at the top of a mountain unexpectedly due to a high wind and percipitation event. That event occurred at the 'peak' of the mountain. That does not necessarily occur every year in the capacity it is occuring now. Frequently, the denser ice areas of Earth do not receive 'recharge' so much as 'protection' from lower recharging icefields.
Take Antarctica for instance. The Blue Ice doesn't keep building in capacity. It is mostly fixed with some very slow movement over long periods of time. Perhaps, meters per year. Yet the icefields of Antarctica are very dynamic. So dynamic that they are the feeding grounds in the 'summer' months to baleen whales and other migratory marine life.
The icefields of Antarctica are broken down scientifically into catagories, such as 'terrances' and icefields (Such as the Larson Fields) and 'sea ice.' All those 'forms' of ice have different capacity and importance to the dynamics of Antarctica and ultimately to The Dynamic Earth. All the different categories of 'ice' in Antarctica provide a 'protection' of sort to The Blue Ice. One of the most alarming events in recent history was the collapse of Larsen B. However, that was not alone alarming to the point that 'the terraces' were also now exposed and melting. The terraces lead to the denser Blue Ice. The terraces protect the three mile high Blue Ice from 'heated air.' It is when those protections are gone or better stated 'lacking enough mass' that the demise of The Blue Ice, not already sublimed by heat, will become a point of whether or not there will be tsunamis around the globe as it loses it's gavity center and crashes into the oceans.
Scary, huh? That is why the entire mess is 'left alone' by most scientists. They don't like scaring people. They like to perform science and leave the protections of people to the political rhelm. Well, when you have people at the top of leadership ignoring and abusing science for the sake of wealth then it is time for scientists to 'speak truth to power' and put the political animals in their place.
But to return to the odd 'stability' of the icefields. As the percipitation for recharge goes to higher elevations the amounts of persciptation push the capacity of the top ice to supply the lower icefields with mass. Not recharge now, mass.
The issue is this, what difference does it make that the icefields are recharged at higher elevations or lower elevations or that protections are in place or not so long as they are there and providing a 'Dynamic Earth' with the cooling capacity to ULTIMATELY protect Earth's ability to sustain life. What's the big deal? Right? No icefield is more important than the political directives of governments so what's this fuss all about? Just the love of icefields?
No.
Here is why.
As the 'recharge' areas go to higher elevations, that is a clear indication that the capcity of 'rain water / snow water' is going to higher elevations. As Earth heats it will lose it's capacity to receive 'rain/snow' at ground level at all. Where are your crops? At 10,000 feet? How much productive farmland is at 10,000 feet? How many people will have food and who will they be? Where do your economies come from? In the case of the wine industry, it comes from growing crops in 'temperate' climates. Earth supplies that temperate climate to the point of wonderful benevolence with the gross assistance of ICE. Lots and lots of stored capacity water.
Now. I'll stop there. To go on any further to the issues as what can happen to human life on Earth with a CHRONICALLY increasing carbon dioxide level is hideous. It becomes bizarre and uncivilized. We need to protect our icefields to insure civility on Earth, love life and enjoy the capacity Earth gives us to have economies of benevolence and fulfillment of higher values.
Glaciology is one of those 'distant' practices in science that seem 'silly' to most people and that is okay to think that way. For lots of reasons it should seem silly in a society well prepared to understand it's PLACE on this Dynamic Earth. But, in principle, glaciology, is one of the most important fields of science in realizing the biotic Earth depends on it's ice. The science is not simply people loving ice and it's fascination with melting and freezing or the life ecosystems surrounding this 'ice phenomena' of Earth. It isn't a bunch of ski bumps that found a way of making a living. It, like all areas of science and math are vital to the understanding of the world we live in and how to interact with it.
The heating of Earth through the high emissions of carbon dioxide has to stop. Societies need to address their energy and transportation needs responsiblity with a 'can do' philosophy. Stop being whiners. Become doers ! CHANGE !!!
